In my personal experience,
people will work alone in laboratories late at night even if there are
rules prohibiting it. Obviously, if such individuals trigger the
units, they may be in need of immediate assistance and may not be able
to call for help on their own. However, the chances of a critical
injury in which someone could activate a safety shower and then collapse
before reaching the alarm or phone (in an academic setting) is pretty
darn remote. Then again, I have witnessed people doing very
stupid things in labs late at night, including "pranks" that could
easily have gotten them fired or killed.

Units
can also be activated by accident or by vandals, resulting in
significant water damage if the activation is not discovered until hours
later, particularly if there are no floor drains in the building.
One malicious activation could cause tens of thousands of dollars
in damage if it is not discovered and dealt with
quickly.

Obviously, a cost-benefit analysis is
in order.

Water flow alarm systems
designed for safety stations run about $1,000 USD if purchased in bulk.
If you purchase just the flow switch with remote indicating
capabilities and forgo the local alarm/horn/strobe the cost is
approximately half that. In my personal opinion, if you're on a
fixed budget and looking at that kind of money, a water tempering unit
is a better investment than an alarm for an academic setting because it
is a) most likely to improve outcomes and b) is required under the
International Plumbing Code (and recommended under
ANSI Z358.1).

Do any of you have experience about having your eye washers &/or
safety showers connected to a Building Automation System (BAS)? I can
understand the benefit in a remote location, where a response team can
be alerted if this equipment is activated, but it seems overkill in a
University lab.

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